CLASSIFICATION  OF  MAIL-MATTER. 


Office  of  the  Assistant  Attorney-General 

for  the  Post-Office  Department, 

Washington ,  D.  (7.,  November  17,  1877. 

Sir:  During  the  temporary  absence  of  the  Assistant  Attorney-Gen¬ 
eral  for  this  department,  in  June  last,  I  was  requested  by  the  Acting 
First  Assistant  Postmaster-General  to  advise  him  as  to  the  proper  con¬ 
struction  to  be  placed  upon  that  portion  of  section  15  of  the  act  of  July 
12,  1876,  which  reads  as  follows,  to  wit:  “  Regular  publications  designed 
primarily  for  advertising  purposes.”  To  his  request,  I  replied  under  date 
of  June  7th,  in  a  somewhat  lengthy  opinion,  and  since  that  time,  to  the 
date  of  this  letter,  I  have  had  referred  to  me  between  three  hundred  and 
four  hundred  publications,  submitted  to  the  department  by  postmasters, 
and  in  some  instances  competing  publishers,  in  order  that  their  status 
under  the  aforementioned  section  might  be  judicially  determined. 

The  construction  of  this  section  and  its  application  have  involved  the 
careful  examination  of  all  the  various  sections  of  the  statutes  relative  to 
the  classification  of  mailable  matter  and  the  rates  of  postage  there¬ 
under. 

In  view  of  my  connection  with  this  matter  you  have  requested  me  to 
suggest  to  you  any  conclusions  I  may  have  reached  upon  this  very  im¬ 
portant  branch  of  the  postal  service,  and  particularly  as  to  the  necessity 
for  any  change  in  the  present  laws  relative  to  the  same. 

In  accordance  with  such  request  I  have  the  honor  to  submit  the  fol¬ 
lowing  views  for  your  consideration. 

Permit  me  to  say,  by  way  of  introduction,  that  I  am  not  of  those  who 
believe  that  rates  of  postage,  as  a  principle,  should  be  adjusted  to  accord 
with  the  actual  carrying  cost  of  the  various  articles  of  mail  matter. 
Nor  am  I  of  that  class  who  hold  to  the  opinion  that  the  postal  depart¬ 
ment  was  designed  to  be  a  common  carrier.  I  believe  it  was  intended 
to  have,  and  that  its  interests  are  best  subserved  in  having,  a  limited 
use.  Hence,  like  everything  else  having  a  limited  use,  it  should  be 
carefully  guarded. 

I  agree  in  the  main  with  the  views  which  have  been  heretofore  ex¬ 
pressed  upon  this  subject  by  tbe  late  general  superintendent  of  railway 
mail  .service,  George  S.  Bangs,  esq.,  to  be  found  in  his  printed  pamphlet 
of  1875.  Briefly  speaking,  I  hold  that  within  this  limited  use  the  pri¬ 
mary  object  of  the  establishment  of  a  postal  system  by  government 
was  the  14  general  dissemination  of  intelligence  in  the  interest  of  the 
public  good.” 

In  this  view  of  it  Congress  seem  to  have  ever  legislated,  as  recogniz¬ 
ing  that  the  welfare  of  the  people,  and  to  a  certain  extent  the  perpetuity 
of  our  republican  institutions,  rest  upon  the  intelligence  of  the  citizen. 
It  has  made  progressive  concessions  to  44  the  press,”  notwithstanding  the 
fact  that  for  years  the  expenditures  of  the  Post-Office  Department  in  the 
carriage  of  the  newspaper-mail  have  exceeded  the  receipts,  because, 
doubtless,  it  has  recognized  44  the  press”  as  an  agency  of  the  greatest 
importance  in  the  promotion  of  the  public  good. 


4 


Hence,  in  all  its  legislation  upon  this  subject,  Congress  has  classed 
“the  press”  as  privileged  matter  in  the  mails,  and  has,  since  the  act  of 
1845,  been  materially  cheapening  the  rates  of  postage  for  its  transmis¬ 
sion  through  the  same,  until  it  reached  the  act  of  Jane  23,  1874,  which 
generously  accorded  to  the  “public  prints”, of  the  country  the  benefit  of 
the  pound  or  bulk  rates  of  postage,  and  thus  brought  them  within  the 
reach  of  the  great  body  of  the  people. 

It  happened  that  this  act  was  made  the  occasion  by  certain  sundry 
not  overscrupulous  persons,  for  evading  the  plain  spirit  which  prompted 
its  passage.  Under  the  vaguely  loose  definition  of  a  “newspaper”  and 
“periodical”  which  common  parlance  and  even  lexicographers  have  given 
to  these  words,  it  was  found  possible  for  persons  engaged  in  certain 
trade-pursuits  which  they  wished  to  advertise  to  the  public  in  a  cheap 
way,  and  who  were  attracted  by  these  low  rates  of  postage,  to  issue 
weekly,  semi-monthly,  and  less  often,  but  with  a  degree  of  regularity 
which  enabled  them  to  lay  claim  to  the  title  of  “  periodical,”  publica¬ 
tions  devoted  to  advertising  their  interests,  wares,  or  specifics,  with  just 
enough  of  hastily-collected  news  or  light  reading  matter  to  enable  them 
to  mail  them  at  the  low  rates  fixed  by  the  act  of  June,  1874,  The  re¬ 
sult  was,  the  mails  were  freighted  with  this  kind  of  publication,  to  the 
great  detriment  of  the  service  and  the  legitimate  publications  for  which 
the  law  was  intended.  The  evil  became  so  crying  that  Congress,  upon 
the  recommendation  of  the  Postmaster-General,  enacted  the  fifteenth 
section  of  the  act  of  July  12, 1876,  in  the  hope  and  with  the  intent  that 
the  evils  might  be  avoided. 

The  construction  given  to  the  law  in  my  letter  of  the  7th  of  June  has 
been  conceded  to  be  the  correct  one.  With  my  views  you  are  already 
familiar,  but  for  the  sake  of  the  connection  I  here  insert  them  : 

Office  of  the  Assistant  Attorney-General 
for  the  Post-Office  Department, 
Washington,  D.  C.,  June  7,  1877. 

Sir  :  I  have  made  careful  examination  of  the  publications  which  you  have  sub¬ 
mitted  to  this  office,  to  wit,  The  Iron  Age  and  The  Metal  Worker,  published  by  G.  D. 
Williams,  at  the  city  of  New  York,  in  connection  with  section  15  of  the  act  of  July  12, 
1876,  and  I  am  Of  opinion  that  they  are  neither  of  them  such  publications  as  bring 
them  within  the  provisions  of  that  section.  There  is  no  ambiguity  in  the  terms  “  reg¬ 
ular  publication  designed  primarily  for  advertising  purposes,”  as  employed  in  the 
aforesaid  section,  but  the  question  of  whether  a  given  publication  is  within  the  terms 
employed,  being  a  question  of  fact  rather  than  law,  is  not  as  easily  answered.  Under 
the  iudomitable  spirit  of  enterprise  which  has  ever  characterized  the  business  interest 
of  the  country,  of  late  years  men  engaged  in  certain  trade-pursuits  have  resorted  to 
the  expedient  of  printing  or  having  printed  certain  publications  devoted  mainly  to  the 
advertisement  of  their  business  or  trade.  These  publications  are  issued  in  sheets, 
som  e  of  them  having  the  appearance  of  newspapers,  others  of  pamphlets ;  they  are 
issued  from  regular  offices  of  publication,  and  at  regular  and  stated  intervals,  some  of 
them  designed  for  free  circulation,  some  for  circulation  at  moderate  rates,  while  others 
are  fn  nished  only  to  bona  fide  and.  regular  subscribers  at  a  subscription  which  may  be 
regarded  as  fair  and  commensurate,  but  all  of  them  having  for  their  main  object  the 
public  and  undisguised  advertisement  of  those  who  publish  them. 

There  can  be  no  doubt  that  such  publications  are  publications  designed  primarily 
for  “  advertising  purposes,”  and  whether  they  be  issued  under  any  of  the  conditions 
above  named  they  are  alike  subject  to  the  rates  fixed  by  the  fifteenth  section  of  the  act 
of  July  12,  1876.  There  are,  however,  publications  which  do  not  so  undisguisedly  ad¬ 
vertise  the  business  of  those  who  publish  them.  They  are  apparently  devoted  to  the 
dissemination  of  intelligence  relating  to  the  pursuit  or  business  of  a  certain  class  or 
classes  of  the  general  public,  such  intelligence  consisting  of  correspondence,  editorial 
articles,  it  may  be  trade  reports,  changes  in  business,  and  various  other  matter,  as  well 
as  what  are  technically  known  as  advertisements,  and  yet  in  point  of  fact  these  publi¬ 
cations  are  primarily  designed  and  are  so  conducted  for  the  advertisement  of  the  busi¬ 
ness  interests  of  those  who  publish  or  own  them.  The  main  object  of  such  publications 
being  to  attract  notice  to  the  pursuit  of  those  who  publish  or  own  them,  it  is  entirely 
immaterial  to  the  inquiry  to  consider  by  what  manner  this  object  is  best  accomplished. 


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There  may  be  a  presumption  in  favor  of  all  publications  of  this  character  which  have 
a  bona  fide  subscription  list,  and  which  are  published  at  rates  other  than  nominal,  but 
it  is  a  presumption  which  is  often  overcome  by  careful  diagnosis.  The  statute  was 
not  intended  nor  does  it  discriminate  hgaipst  regnlar  publications,  denominated  class 
or  special  publications, per  se. 

Twenty-five  years  ago  a  publication  which  me(fc  &\\  tastes,  which  was  for  everybody’s 
use,  was  all  that  was  demanded  by  the  peofilp,  but  it  cannot  be  denied  that  at  this 
day  the  demand  is  for  a  division  of  labor  here  as  elsewhere.  It  is  impossible  for  a  gen¬ 
eral  periodical  or  newspaper  to  embrace  within  its  spatee  all  the  movements  of  the  day, 
and  hence  but  meager  information  upon  these  different  subjects  can  be  supplied,  the 
elaborate  and  scientific  details  being  left  to  the  class-periodicals. 

The  intention  of  Congress  in  the  enactment  of  the  statutes  was  not  directed  against 
such  regular  publications,  whether  confined  to  a  single  department  or  conveying  in¬ 
formation  interesting  and  of  the  highest  importance  to  certain  classes  of  the  commu¬ 
nity,  but  against  those  which,  uuder  cover  of  furnishiug  just  such  information,  were 
designed  primarily  to  apprise  the  public,  or  such  of  the  public  as  could  be  induced  to 
subscribe  to  their  publications,  of  their  business  or  trade. 

As  a  summary  of  these  views  I  would  advise  you  that  publications  which  are  regu¬ 
larly  issued  by  single  individuals  or  by  firms,  or  by  combination  of  individuals  or  firms 
engaged  in  trade,  the  main  object  of  which  is  the  prosecution  of  the  business  interest 
of  the  owners  or  publishers  of  the  same,  whether  the  same  be  done  openly  or  without 
disguise,  or  whether  it  be  done  by  conveying  information  relative  to  the  business  of  a 
certain  class  of  the  general  public,  as  well  as  such  publications  as  are  confined  to  gen¬ 
eral  purposes  of  advertising,  are  such  publications  as  are  designated  by  the  fifteenth 
section  of  the  act  of  1876.  The  question  in  all  cases  is  a  question  of  intent. 

Very  respectfully, 

A.  H.  BISSELL, 

Acting  for  the  Assistant  Attorney -General 
for  the  Post-Office  Department. 

Hon.  James  N.  Tyner, 

First  Assistant  Postmaster-General. 


Very  little  difficulty  was  experienced  in  interpreting  the  intent  of  the 
legislation  provided  in  section  15  of  this  act,  but  when  it  was  attempted 
to  make  application  of  this  construction,  involving  as  it  did  the  ques¬ 
tion  of  intent  in  the  publication,  it  was  found  next  to  impossible  to  do  it 
within  the  limited  field  of  investigation  afforded  the  department. 
Various  tests  were  tried,  but  were  all  found  to  fall  short  of  even  aver¬ 
age  fairness.  It  was  deemed  the  test  of  subscribership  would  be  a  fair 
one,  but  in  the  case  of  Ehrich’s  Fashion  Quarterly,  of  New  York  City, 
it  was  disclosed  that  it  had  a  large  legitimate  subscription-list,  although 
no  doubt  existed  that  the  primary  intent  of  its  publication  was  to  en¬ 
hance  the  business  of  its  publishers,  who  were  besides  engaged  in  the 
sale  of  notions.  The  fact  of  business  management  as  bearing  upon  the 
question  of  intent  was,  in  many  cases,  impossible  to  determine,  because 
the  onus  probandi  was  upon  the  department. 

To  illustrate  the  difficulty  the  department  encountered  in  its  attempt 
to  apply  the  law  above  quoted,  I  have  but  to  cite  the  case  of  a  well- 
known  fash  ion -journal,  which  was  submitted  by  the  First  Assistant 
Postmaster  General.  An  ex-parte  examination  of  its  contents,  with 
such  evidence  as  the  postmaster  of  the  city  where  the  same  was  pub¬ 
lished  was  able  to  furnish,  satisfied  me  that  the  journal  was  published, 
as  its  primary  object,  for  increasing,  by  means  of  advertising,  the  busi¬ 
ness  of  its  publisher,  to  wit,  the  importation,  for  sale,  of  patterns.  Sub¬ 
sequently,  and  after  a  personal  interview  with  the  publisher,  and  upon 
his  assurance  that  such  was  not  the  case,  his  publication  was  restored 
to  the  bulk  rate  of  postage.  I  accidentally  ascertained,  some  time  after, 
that  the  publisher  had,  in  many  of  the  large  cities  of  this  country  and 
Europe,  pattern-emporiums,  where  the  business  of  selling  patterns  was 
largely  engaged  in,  and  that  the  very  publication  which,  upon  his  rep¬ 
resentations,  had  been  restored  to  its  former  privileged  rates,  contained 
such  data  in  connection  with  any  pattern  desired  as  enabled  the  person 


6 


n  charge  of  the  emporium  to  find  its  location  upon  the  shelves.  In  fine , 
the  publication  served  as  an  extensive  catalogue  of  patterns  which  were 
for  sale  in  these  various  emporiums. 

I  take  at  random  from  the  numberless  cases  presented  another,  illus¬ 
trating  the  difficulty  in  another  way.  The  New  York  #  *  *  was 

submitted  by  the  postmaster  at  that  city  as  a  publication  about  which 
he  had  grave  doubts  as  to  its  right  to  the  privilege  of  the  pound  rate  of 
postage.  The  publishers,  both  in  letters  and  in  a  private  interview, 
protested  by  all  the  inviolability  of  the  publishers’  oath  that  their  pub¬ 
lication  was  a  bona  fide  trade  journal,  and  published  in  the  interest  of 
its  subscribers.  It  was  difficult  for  the  department  to  prove  otherwise, 
though  at  a  subsequent  time  it  was  ascertained  that  this  publication 
belonged  to  a  class  having  no  genuine  or  paid  up  subscription-list, 
thriving  only  upon  its  advertisements,  which  are  inserted  free,  on  the 
condition  that  the  advertisers  will  pay  full  price  for  a  number  of  copies, 
which  are  sent  to  persons  whose  names  are  furnished  upon  a  printed 
list. 

Many  other  cases  might  be  cited,  but  these  are  deemed  sufficient  to 
show  the  necessity  for  further  legislation  upon  this  subject.  The  pur¬ 
pose  of  the  law  is,  I  think,  conceded,  except  by  the  class  of  persons  af¬ 
fected  by  it  in  the  manner  thus  illustrated,  to  be  wise;  but  I  am  satisfied, 
from  the  observation  and  experience  of  the  past  six  months,  that  the 
object  desired  in  its  passage  cannot  be  attained  unless  Congress  shall 
enlarge  the  scope  of  the  inquiry.  The  onus  probandi  in  all  such  cases 
should  be  shifted  from  the  department  to  the  publisher,  on  the  ground 
that  those  who  desire  the  benefits  of  the  privileged  rates ,  should  them¬ 
selves  prove  to  the  department  their  right  to  them. 

1  believe  that  this  can  be  best  attained  by  the  adoption  of  the  plan 
outlined  in  the  able  letter  of  the  present  superintendent  of  railway  mail 
service  to  the  late  Postmaster-General  Jewell,  under  date  of  February, 
1876,  to  wit,  the  registration  or  license  of  privileged  second-class  matter. 

Privileged  matter  in  the  mails,  1  apprehend,  should  be  that  which  it 
pays  best  to  carry,  either  because  of  the  revenue  derived  from  its 
carriage,  or  because  it  serves  to  disseminate  intelligence,  and  hence 
tends  to  promote  the  public  good.  To  the  former  belong  letters  and 
letters  only;  to  the  latter  the  “public  prints’7  of  the  country.  I  believe 
not  only  that  this  “privileged  matter”  should  be  carried  through  the 
mails  as  cheaply  as  possible,  but  also  that  there  should  be  placed  as 
few  restrictions  as  possible  upon  its  carriage;  and  I  am  of  opinion  that 
this  plan  of  registration  will  accomplish  this  latter  better  than  any  that 
has  ever,  to  my  knowledge,  been  suggested.  In  order  that  this  feature 
may  be  the  better  comprehended,  I  desire  to  suggest  in  the  same  connec¬ 
tion  some  thoughts  which  have  occurred  to  me  relative  to  the  subject 
of  the  classification  of  mail  matter.  Under  the  present  law  mailable 
matter  is  divided  into  three  classes:  First,  letters;  second,  regular 
printed  matter;  third,  miscellaneous  matter.  In  the  first  class  is  em¬ 
braced  all  correspondence  wholly  or  partly  in  writing,  except  book  man¬ 
uscript  and  corrected  proof-sheets  passing  between  authors  and  pub¬ 
lishers.  Ma  lable  matter  of  the  second  class  embraces  all  matter 
exclusively  in  print,  and  regularly  issued  from  a  known  office  of  publi¬ 
cation,  without  addition  by  writing,  mark,  or  sign. 

The  section  of  the  law  which  describes  mailable  matter  of  the  third 
class  is  a  sort  of  an  omnium  gatherum  section,  in  which  are  enumerated 
very  many  articles  of  printed  matter  and  merchandise,  as  though  Con¬ 
gress  had  intended  to  embrace  in  this  section  everything  which  might 
be  declared  mailable,  and  which  was  not  embraced  in  the  other  two 


7 


classes,  and  had  sought  to  do  so  by  an  exhaustive  enumeration.  Fear¬ 
ing,  however,  that  it  had  not  so  done,  it  provides  in  a  subsequent  sec¬ 
tion  that  matter  to  which  no  specific  rate  of  postage  has  been  attached, 
that  is  to  say,  matter  which  has  not  been  classified,  shall  be  charged 
with  postage,  not  as  upon  articles  of  tlie  third  class,  nor  in  accordance 
with  its  character,  but  at  the  rate  charged  for  first-class  matter.  I  think 
the  arrangement  is  exceedingly  illogical.  Why,  it  may  be  asked,  should 
book  manuscript  be  excepted  from  the  first-class  rate  and  charged  only 
the  low  second-class  rate,  while  upon  all  other  manuscript,  including 
that  going  to  magazines  and  newspapers,  is  imposed  the  payment  of  the 
high  or  first-class  rate?  Magazines  and  newspapers,  when  regularly 
issued,  are  among  the  favored  articles  of  mail-matter,  and  are  trans¬ 
mitted  at  the  lowest  or  pound  rates,  while  books  are  looked  upon  as 
merchandise  and  subjected  to  the  highest  of  all  the  rates.  One  would 
naturally  suppose  that,  if  exception  were  made  at  all,  it  would  be  in  case 
of  manuscript  relating  to  privileged  matter.  I  beg  to  suggest,  therefore, 
if  the  exception  is  to  be  made  at  all,  that  the  words  “authors7  manu¬ 
script 77  be  substituted  for  “  book  manuscript,77  and  that  the  words  fol¬ 
lowing  be  transposed,  so  that  the  sentence  shall  read  “  except  authors7 
manuscripts  passing  between  authors  and  publishers,  proof-sheets,  and 
corrected  proof-sheets,77  though  I  can  perceive  no  reason  at  all  for  the 
exception. 

Under  the  provisions  of  section  15  of  the  act  of  July  12,  1876,  two 
rates  were  assigned  to  mail-matter  of  the  third  class,  a  rate  for  mer¬ 
chandise  and  a  rate  for  printed  matter,  while  unsealed  circulars  deposited 
in  letter-carrier  offices  are  chargeable  at  one  cent  for  each  circular. 
Under  the  rates  fixed  in  this  section  it  has  become  a  matter  of  great 
importance  to  know  the  distinction  between  a  circular  and  some  one  or 
more  of  the  terms  used  in  the  section  of  the  statutes  describing  by 
enumeration  third-class  matter.  Congress  not  having  defined  the  term 
“  circular,77  very  many  communications  have  been  addressed  by  post¬ 
masters  to  the  department,  inclosing  specimens  of  matter  deposited  for 
mailing  in  their  office,  and  requesting  a  construction  and  an  application 
of  the  law  in  the  case  submitted,  the  whole  mail  in  some  cases  being 
stopped  until  a  decision  of  the  department  shall  have  been  returned,  to 
the  great  annoyance,  not  to  say  injustice,  of  the  sender  of  the  mail- 
matter  in  question.  I  would  suggest,  as  a  remedy  for  these  annoyances, 
an  amendment  to  the  section  describing  third-class  matter  that  shall 
avoid  any  enumeration  at  all,  and  by  taking  out  from  the  third  class 
all  miscellaneous  or  irregular  printed  matter,  and  relegating  the  same 
to  the  second  class,  under  the  head  of  “ordinary  matter77  of  that  class. 

To  simplify  the  classification,  therefore,  and  divide  mailable  matter 
naturally,  1  have  the  honor  to  suggest  that  Congress  be  asked  to  amend 
the  statutes  relative  to  the  classification  of  mail-matter,  so  that  to  the 
first  class  shall  belong  written  matter,  excepting  therefrom  the  matter  I 
have  hereinbefore  indicated;  to  the  second  class  printed  matter ,  under 
the  divisions  indicated  in  the  next  and  following  sections  of  this  letter; 
and  to  the  third  class,  under  such  restrictions  and  limitations  as  may  be 
prescribed,  merchandise. 

As  the  most  important  feature  of  this  classification  is  the  registration 
or  license  of  certain  second-class  matter,  you  will  permit  me  to  discuss 
it  somewhat  at  length.  Bearing  in  mind  the  kinds  of  matter  that  are 
regarded  as  privileged,  and  that  such  matter  should  be  carried  as 
cheaply  as  possible  and  with  the  fewest  restrictions  possible,  printed 
or  second-class  matter  would  be  divided  then  into  “  regular,  or  privi¬ 
leged,77  and  “miscellaneous,  or  ordinary.77  Within  the  former  class 


8 


would  be  embraced  all  periodicals  and  newspapers  devoted  to  public  or 
political  matters,  religion,  morality,  social  economy,  science,  literature, 
the  arts,  or  the  industries,  and  would  be  entitled  to  the  privilege  of  regis¬ 
tration  at  the  pound  or  low  rate  of  postage.  The  u  miscellaneous,  or  ordi¬ 
nary,”  would  include  all  printed  matter  now  embraced  within  the  third 
class,  including  transient  magazines  and  newspapers,  and  regular  publi¬ 
cations  designed  primarily  for  advertising  purposes,  or  forfree  circulation, 
or  for  circulation  through  the  mails  at  nominal  rates.  As  has  been  already 
stated,  the  pound  rates  of  postage  have  heretofore  acted  as  the  incentive 
in  prompting  the  publication  by  businessmen  of  business  circulars  having 
the  form  of  newspapers,  for  which  they  claimed  the  right  of  transporta¬ 
tion  at  the  cheap  rates.  Great  confusion  has  arisen,  gross  injustice 
been  done,  and  inconsistent  action  been  taken  by  postmasters  who  were 
called  upon  to  draw  the  line,  and  found  it  difficult  to  do  so,  between 
what  were  legitimate  publications  and  those  which  were  simply  adver¬ 
tising  schemes.  Of  course  these  opinions  have  widely  differed ;  publi¬ 
cations  of  a  certain  class  having  been  admitted  to  the  bulk  rates  in  one 
city,  and  excluded  from  them  in  another.  To  the  end  that  uniformity 
may  be  had,  and  postmasters  relieved  of  the  exercise  of  these  quasi¬ 
judicial  functions,  I  beg  to  suggest  that  the  statutes  themselves  should 
draw  the  line,  in  clear  and  unmistakable  terms.  Publications  relating 
to  the  various  industries  of  the  country  are  rarely  now  of  a  general 
character.  The  increasing  zeal  for  information  upon  special  subjects,  as 
well  as  the  opportunity  which  has  been  offered  to  enterprising  business¬ 
men  under  the  attractively  low  rates  of  postage  to  own  their  own  news¬ 
paper,  in  which  to  advertise  themselves  and  their  business,  have  caused 
to  spring  up  within  the  last  few  years  a  large  and  constantly  increasing 
number  of  a  trade  or  special  publications.  These  publications  may  be 
divided  into  five  classes,  described  as  follows : 

First.  Those  publications  originated  and  published  for  the  dissemina¬ 
tion  of  information  upon  some  special  subject,  or  devoted  to  the  interests 
of  some  special  industry,  having  a  legitimate  list  of  subscribers  and  be¬ 
ing  conducted  so  as  to  attract  more.  Notable  instances  of  this  class  are 
The  Iron  Age,  The  American  Grocer,  The  Shoe  and  Leather  Reporter, 
and  The  Publishers’ Weekly,  of  New  York;  The  Trade-List  of  Cincin¬ 
nati  ;  and  The  Northwestern  Lumberman  and  The  Hardware  and  Imple¬ 
ment  Trade  Review,  of  Chicago.  There  can  be  no  question  but  what 
publications  of  this  character  should  be  regarded  as  equally  entitled  to 
all  the  benefits  of  the  “privileged”  class,  as  the  leading  metropolitan 
dailies  of  the  country. 

Second.  Those  publications  owned  and  controlled  by  one,  or  in  many 
cases  several,  business  concerns,  and  conducted  solely  for  the  advance¬ 
ment  of  the  business  or  trade  of  those  who  own  them.  Their  subscrip¬ 
tion-price  is  nominal  and  they  are  of  no  public  benefit.  To  this  class 
may  be  assigned  Baldwin’s  Monthly,  the  Leader,  published  by  Rogers, 
Feet  &  Co.,  and  Vogel  Brothers1  Monthly,  all  of  New  York  City;  the 
Commercial  Reporter,  of  Brooklyn  ;  the  Trade ‘'Price  List,  of  Nashville, 
Tenn.,  and  the  Mirror  of  Fashion,  of  Kansas  City. 

Third.  Those  publications  which,  having  no  genuine  nor  paid-up  sub¬ 
scribers,  insert  advertisements  free  on  the  condition  that  the  advertiser 
will  pay  full  price  for  from  two  hundred  to  one  thousand  papers,  which 
are  sent  to  persons  whose  names  are  given  to  the  advertiser  upon  a 
printed  list.  Among  publications  of  this  character  may  be  mentioned 
the  New  York  Jobbers’  Price-Current,  and  the  Commercial  Gazette,  of 
New  York. 

Fourth.  Those  publications  which  do  desire  advertising  only.  Such 


9 


do  not  want  subscribers,  so  as  not  to  be  compelled  to  issue  their  publica¬ 
tions  regularly.  If  the  probable  receipts  are  not  likely  to  exceed  the 
expenses,  the  publication  will  be  deferred  for  a  week  or  so.  The  space 
in  their  columns  allotted  to  reading-matter  is  filled  with  long  editorial 
puffs  of  houses  or  individuals,  who  buy  a  certain  number  of  copies  for 
distribution,  and  pay  a  sum  previously  agreed  upon.  The  New  York 
Trade  Journal  and  the  New  York  Trade  Reporter  are  publications  of 
this  class. 

Fifth.  Pamphlets  containing  market  quotations  and  the  business- 
cards  of  various  business  houses  opposite  the  page  containing  the  quo¬ 
tations.  They  have  a  subscription  price  which  cannot  be  regarded  as 
nominal,  and  are  sent  to  bonctjide  subscribers,  who  are  usually  retailers 
living  in  the  smaller  cities  and  towns  of  the  country.  As  belonging  to 
this  class,  I  may  mention  the  Saint  Louis  Weekly  Dry  Goods  and  Gro¬ 
cery  Reporter  and  Sheldon’s  Weekly  Dry  Goods  Price  List  of  New 
York  City.  Publications  having  the  characteristics  or  falling  within 
the  description  of  these  latter  four  classes  do  not  come  within  the  re¬ 
quirements  of  “  privileged  matter”  in  the  mails.  They  are  not  useful 
as  vehicles  of  accurate  thought,  nor  are  they  intended  for  the  instruc¬ 
tion  or  entertainment  of  the  people.  They  are  purely  personal  enter¬ 
prises,  and  should  pay  their  way  as  nearly  as  possible  through  the 
mails. 

In  this  connection,  I  desire  to  call  your  attention  to  the  elastic  inter¬ 
pretation  which  has  been  given  to  the  term  “  periodical  publication” 
during  the  past  year,  which  has  resulted  in  the  perpetration  of  very 
great  injustice  toward  a  conscientious  and  enterprising  class  of  pub¬ 
lishers.  Certain  publications,  issued  at  stated  intervals  from  a  known 
office  of  publication,  each  number  containing  a  novel  or  a  reprint  of  a 
novel,  in  some  cases  complete  in  itself,  in  others  incomplete,  but  having 
a  determinate  entirety,  to  be  consummated  when  a  certain  number  of 
copies  have  been  published,  have  been  admitted  to  the  mails  at  the  “  bulk 
rate,”  it  having  been  held  that  because  they  contained  literary  matter 
and  possessed  the  element  of  periodicity,  they  must  be  regarded  as 
“  periodical  publications.”  I  cannot  understand  the  logic  of  a  decision 
which  would  admit  the  Sunnyside  Library,  the  first  three  numbers  of 
which  were  but  reprints  in  popular  form  of  “Paradise  Lost,”  “  Lalla 
Rookh,”  and  u  Don  Juan,”  and  at  the  same  time  would  exclude  from  the 
bulk-rates  the  Tribune  series  of  novels  and  the  Harpers’  Half-hour  series, 
which  have  very  properly  been  charged  with  the  third  class  rates,  in 
which  charge  the  publishers  thereof  have  cheerfully  acquiesced,  al¬ 
though  the  discrimination  against  them  was  very  manifest.  From  in¬ 
quiries  set  on  foot  at  one  of  the  large  offices  of  the  country,  it  is  believed 
that  not  one  of  the  kindred  publications  to  the  one  first  mentioned 
has  a  list  of  subscribers,  but  is  supplied  to  news-agents  and  book¬ 
sellers  for  sale  over  their  counters.  “  Don  Juan”  between  covers  would 
be  called  a  book,  and,  when  sent  in  the  mails,  charged  as  merchandise; 
published  in  newspaper  form  and  sent  to  news  agents  for  sale,  it  is  not 
treated  as  merchandise,  but  as  a  “  periodical  publication.” 

I  could  multiply  these  cases,  but  I  apprehend  that  I  have  sufficiently 
demonstrated  the  need  of  some  more  intelligent,  uniform,  and  permanent 
system  of  procedure.  I  am  fully  satisfied,  from  an  examination  extend¬ 
ing  over  a  period  of  nearly  six  months,  that  the  embarrassments  ai  d 
confusion  which  have  arisen  at  the  local  offices  throughout  the  country, 
incident  to  the  exercise  to  some  extent  of  quasi-judicial  functions  by  the 
postmaster  in  the  separation  of  mail-matter,  imposed  by  the  15th  section 
of  the  act  of  July  12,  1876,  and  the  constantly  increasing  vexatious 


10 


and  complicated  questions  arisingfrom  the  inartistic  and  unnatural  class¬ 
ification,  can  best  be  remedied,  and  uniformity  and  permanency  given 
to  the  rulings  of  the  department,  by  the  registration  of  “  privileged 
printed  matter.”  In  this  view  I  am  supported  by  the  postmasters  of 
the  leading  cities  of  the  United  States,  as  well  as  by  those  officers  of  the 
department  who  have  given  the  subject  any  consideration.  To  this  I 
desire  to  call  your  attention  particularly.  In  the  division  of  mailable 
matter  into  classes,  printed  matter  of  every  kind  and  description  should 
be  placed  in  the  second  class  in  the  manner  and  under  the  divisions  I 
have  hereinbefore  specified,  the  rate  of  privileged  matter  to  be,  as  now, 
two  and  three  cents  per  pound,  and  for  the  u  ordinary  ”  not  to  exceed 
four  times  that  for  the  privileged  second-class  matter.  Publishers  desir¬ 
ing  to  have  their  publications  transmitted  through  the  mails  at  the 
cheap  or  privileged  rate,  should  submit  their  publications  to  the  de¬ 
partment  under  such  regulations  as  to  time  and  method  as  the  Post¬ 
master-General  may  prescribe,  who  shall  cause  the  same  to  be  examined, 
and  if  found  to  be  within  the  conditions  clearly  defiued  in  the  law  of 
privileged  matter,  shall  cause  a  certificate  of  registration  to  be  issued, 
which  shall  be  filed  in  the  department,  and  a  duplicate  thereof  forwarded 
to  the  postmaster  at  the  office  where  such  publication  is  published,  who 
shall  place  the  same  on  file  in  his  office.  Such  certificate  of  registration 
shall  admit  the  publication  to  the  privileged  rate  of  postage  and  to 
transmission  through  the  mails  at  that  rate,  until  revoked  by  the  Post¬ 
master-General,  which  shall  only  be  upon  evidence  submitted  to  him 
that  the  publication  has  so  changed  its  character  as  to  fall  without  the 
conditions  named  in  the  act,  or  that  the  publisher  has  been  guilty  of  an 
intentional  evasion  of  the  law.  In  case  a  news-dealer  should  seek  to 
transmit  within  the  bulk  package  of  registered  matter,  matter  subject  to 
a  higher  rate  of  postage,  he,  and  not  the  publication,  should  be  denied 
the  privilege  of  registration.  When  registered  matter  has  once  passed 
beyond  the  office  at  which  it  is  mailed  it  should  be  absolutely  protected 
from  detention,  unless  it  should  be  known  to  be  circulating  matter  pro¬ 
hibited  by  law,  such  as  obscene  or  lascivious  articles  or  advertisements, 
and  notices  relating  to  lotteries  and  fraudulent  schemes  or  devices.  If 
registered  matter  is  suspected  by  the  postmaster  at  the  office  of  distri¬ 
bution  or  delivery,  the  department  and  mailing-office  being  notified  of 
the  suspicion  and  the  cause  for  it,  and  if  deemed  of  sufficient  weight, 
inquiry  and  investigation  shall  be  set  on  foot  at  the  office  of  mailing. 
In  addition  to  the  revocation  of  the  certificate  of  registration,  there 
should  be  imposed  a  penalty  upon  the  person  submitting  false  evidence 
as  to  the  character  of  his  publication. 

The  advantages  of  the  system  of  registration  will,  I  think,  be  found 
to  be  incomparable.  With  a  cheap  registration-fee  the  certificate  would 
afford  protection  from  interference  by  some  over-zealous  postmaster  or 
envious  rival  to  all  the  legitimate  publications  of  the  country.  Much 
of  the  difficulty  which  has  arisen  during  the  past  year  has  been,  in  the 
first  place,  from  a  want  of  proper  understanding  of  the  tests  whioh 
should  be  applied  in  determining  the  character  of  a  publication  ren¬ 
dered  necessary  by  the  passage  of  the  act  of  July  12,  1876,  and,  in  the 
second  place,  by  the  limited  scope  of  inquiry  afforded  the  department. 
This  plan  relieves  postmasters  of  the  discretionary  and  judicial  power 
possessed  under  the  present  law,  and  enlarges  the  field  of  inquiry  on 
the  part  of  the  department.  It  makes  a  system  which  is  in  itself  a 
guarantee  of  permanency  in  the  rulings  of  the  department  ;  it  relieves 
the  department  of  the  burden  of  carrying  through  the  mails  at  grossly 
unremunerative  rates  the  tons  of  printed  matter  originated  and  con- 


11 


ducted  solely  for  individual  purposes;  and,  while  imposing  no  addi¬ 
tional  burden  upon  regular  publications,  it  would,  I  am  confident,  yield 
a  handsome  revenue  to  the  government.  From  an  examination  of  the 
various  newspaper  directories,  I  think  I  can  safely  assume  that  between 
seven  thousand  and  eight  thousand  publications  would  be  fairly  entitled 
to  these  privileged  rates.  The  number  would  change,  from  time  to 
time,  but  I  am  confident  it  would  not  vary  far  from  seven  thousand  five 
hundred  annually.  At  an  annual  registration-fee  of  one  dollar,  which 
no  bona  fide  publisher  will  deem  in  any  way  burdensome,  a  handsome 
revenue  from  this  source  alone  will  be  yielded  to  the  department  annu¬ 
ally. 

This  plan  of  registration  would  also,  in  my  judgment,  serve  as  a  most 
effectual  check  upon  the  habit,  so  almost  universally  indulged,  under  our 
present  system,  of  transmitting  in  the  bulk  or  second-class  packages 
matter  wholly  irrelevant  to  them,  and  belonging  to  a  different  classifica¬ 
tion.  I  cannot  state  with  certainty  the  amount  of  revenue  of  which  the 
department  is  annually  deprived  by  this  commingling  of  second  and 
third  class  matter,  but  from  inquiries  made  among  members  of  the 
postal  service,  who  have  daily  experience  in  the  handling  of  the  mails, 
I  have  no  hesitation  in  saying  it  amounts  to  between  one  million  and 
two  million  of  dollars. 

During  the  period  of  my  connection  with  this  subject  of  classification 
my  attention  has  been  called  to  repeated  instances  of  this  character : 
Publishers  and  news  agents  have  inclosed  in  their  second-class  pack¬ 
ages  merchandise  and  other  matter  of  the  third  class,  for  which  the 
department  should  receive  higher  rates.  In  this  way,  bundles  of  pat¬ 
terns,  photographs,  fashion-plates,  handbills,  prospectuses,  and  circulars 
have  been  carried  through  the  mails  at  the  bulk  rates  of  postage.  In 
one  case  I  recall,  many  hundred  circulars,  each  of  which  should  have 
paid  the  government  one  cent,  were  thus  transported  at  a  nominal  cost 
to  the  sender,  while  to  the  department  the  actual  carrying  cost  was  not 
only  several  times  greater  than  the  revenue  which  it  did  actually  re¬ 
ceive,  but  just  so  much  less  than  it  ought  to  have  received. 

This  plan  of  registration  contemplates  a  more  thorough  inspection  of 
the  matter  passing  through  the  mails,  so  that  not  only  irregular  pub¬ 
lications  shall  be  excluded  from  the  advantages  of  this  privileged  rate, 
but  that  extraneous  and  irrelevant  matter  shall  be  rigidly  excluded 
from  privileged  second-class  matter. 

The  changes  which  I  have  suggested  in  the  classification  of  mail- 
matter,  and  others  which  will  appear  in  the  projet  of  the  new  law  which 
I  append  hereto,  but  which  the  limits  of  this  letter  warn  me  that  I 
should  not  discuss,  will  also  relieve  the  department  of  many  of  the  per¬ 
plexing  questions  which  have  been  submitted  to  it  during  the  past  year, 
growing  out  of  the  unnatural  anangement  of  mail-matter,  the  opposing 
rulings  which  have  been  made  by  the  different  local  officers  caused  by 
the  enumeration  of  printed  matter  of  the  third  class  with  different  rates, 
and  the  want  of  harmony  in  the  decisions  of  the  department  even  upon 
mooted  questions.  The  correspondence  relative  to  these  matters  is  now 
imposed  upon  a  score  of  clerks  connected  with  the  office  of  the  First 
Assistant  Postmaster-General,  who  have  in  addition  the  duties  relating 
to  appointments  and  the  routine  business  of  that  office  to  perform. 
Whenever  a  matter  relating  to  classification  or  rates  has  been  submitted 
to  the  department  it  has  been  referred  to  the  clerk  in  charge  of  the  ap¬ 
pointment  desk  of  the  State  from  which  the  matter  emanates.  Very 
many  times  it  has  happened  that  the  same  or  kindred  questions  have 
come  to  the  department  from  different  sections  of  the  country.  With- 


12 


out  any  concert  of  action,  the  answers  have  been  written  in  accordance 
with  the  construction  placed  upon  the  statutes  by  the  clerk  to  whom 
the  matter  was  referred.  Hence  it  has  happened  that  inconsistent 
rulings  have  been  made  by  the  department  itself,  and  much  vexation 
and  confusion  created  at  the  different  local  offices.  That  uniformity 
may  be  had  in  the  future,  I  have  the  honor  to  suggest  that  the  corre¬ 
spondence  relating  to  all  matters  of  this  character  should  be  separated 
from  that  relating  to  appointments  and  the  routine  business  of  the  office 
of  the  First  Assistant  Postmaster-General,  and  referred  to  a  special 
division,  charged  with  the  correspondence  relating  to  this  matter  only. 
And  inasmuch  as  these  questions  involve  almost  altogether  the  con¬ 
struction  of  statutes,  it  would  seem  very  proper  that  this  division 
should  be  connected  with  the  office  of  the  Assistant  Attorney-General 
for  this  department.  It  might  be  necessary  in  so  doing  to  increase  the 
numerical  force  of  the  department  by  one  or  two  persons,  but  it  would 
not  involve  additional  expense,  because  a  part  of  the  force  could  be 
relieved  of  the  correspondence  relating  to  other  subjects  and  charged 
with  that  relating  to  this,  and  whatever  new  appointments  might  be 
made  could  be  paid  from  the  fees  derived  from  the  registration. 

In  concluding  this  letter,  it  may  be  well  to  say  that  the  draught  of  a 
bill  embodying  the  plan  of  registration  was  prepared,  and  copies  there¬ 
of  sent  to  a  large  number  of  publishers  and  postmasters  throughout  the 
country,  with  the  request  that  they  would  freely  criticise  the  same,  and 
make  such  suggestions  relative  thereto  as  might  appear  proper  to  them, 
in  order  that  when  the  bill  should  be  presented  to  Congress  it  might  not 
only  embody  the  views  of  the  department  upon  this  highly  important 
subject,  but  also  any  valuable  and  pertinent  suggestions  made  by  those 
outside  of  the  department  who  were  so  largely  interested  in  having  it 
as  perfect  as  possible.  It  affords  me  pleasure  to  say  that  while  some  of 
the  details  have  been  disapproved  of  and  adversely  criticised,  the  plan 
as  an  entirety  has  been  very  fully  indorsed. 

I  submit  with  this  letter  such  comments,  both  in  print  and  otherwise, 
as  have  been  forwarded  to  the  department,  as  requested  in  your  circu¬ 
lar-letter  which  accompanied  the  bill  as  originally  draughted  ;  also  speci¬ 
men  copies  of  special  or  trade  publications  hereinbefore  described,  and 
certain  other  letters  and  papers  which  will  very  forcibly  illustrate  the 
need  of  new  legislation  upon  the  subject  of  classification  and  rates. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  very  respectfully, 

A.  H.  BISSELL. 


Hon.  D.  M.  Key, 

Postmaster  General. 


O 


